Car accidents in the US are not a few and far between. Many of these cause heavy casualties in terms of physical injuries and even death as well as property damage. Receiving medical care immediately after a car accident is a priority but can be tricky if the injured has different insurance policies. More often, they are not sure which insurance coverage will cover their medical bills and other healthcare expenses. Adding to the complications is a vogue idea if or not their accident injuries are covered under their health insurance plans.
How much an injured or insurance carrier is responsible for medical bill payment largely depends several factors – who was at fault for the car accident, kind of insurance coverage and any co-pay or deductible on the policy. Most health insurance policies cover medical bills for car accident injuries but only up to a certain limit. In this writ-up, we’ll take a telescopic look at the primitive issues related to car injuries and health insurance.
Deductibles, Co-Pays and Car Accident Injury Bills
In most of the car accident cases, medical bills feature a basic pattern when it comes to payment responsibilities. The first step involves any deductibles or co-pays on any standard health policy. In such a usual situation, you receive medical care for your injury stemming from a car accident and follow the same pattern that is similar to getting medical attention for any health issue. In other words, the standard protocol in place will require you to pay the usual co-pay or deductibles under your health insurance policy.
Ambulances, doctors’ chambers and hospitals may not ask for upfront payment from victims (injured parties). They provide immediate and necessary services and then talk to the patient and insurance companies to figure out who should meet the medical bills.
Auto Policies
If you have any auto policy, expect it to be charged with the responsibility of paying your medical bills. In most states, the motorists are obliged to own a car insurance plan that offers basic liability coverage. Not all plans have same coverage but to-be-paid medical bills should not or will not exceed the at-fault party’s policy limits. If your health insurance plan cleared your medical bills, the health insurance company will place a claim against the at-fault party’s car insurance company.
Cycling into Medical Insurance Coverage
The final financial responsibility in the event a car accident-related injury rests with your health insurance plan/carrier as soon as you run out of other payment options. The policy itself clearly determines how much is covered. Injured parties are usually required to pay:
- any co-payments on a health insurance plan
- the amount of deductibles under their health insurance plans
- for other charges not covered in the policy
Recovering Medical Expenses
If the injured is not responsible for the accident, the insurers involved in the scenario will prefer to work behind the curtain to soak a part or all of the medical expenses from the at-fault party’s insurance plans. It’s possible for the injured drivers and passengers to get back some or all of the costs that they were logically and legally forced to pay out of their pocket, through reimbursement by making these expenses a part of any agreement with the at-fault party or their insurance carrier for car accident settlement.
Talk to a practicing and successful Jersey City car accident lawyer about how to make others to pay for your medical bills, especially when you are a victim to someone else’s negligent or unskilled driving.